Flooring manufacturers have improved and modified their materials throughout the time to provide excellent choices to the customers. However, with so many benefits and drawbacks to each type of flooring, determining which is ideal for your house may be challenging. Both laminate and vinyl flooring have significant cost and durability benefits over natural materials like hardwood, yet still, they showcase the much desired natural aesthetic. But on what basis does the selection between laminate flooring and vinyl tiles should be done? Let us discuss that in this blog.
What is Laminate Flooring?
Laminate flooring is the best modern flooring material made up of 4 or 5 layers;
- Top wear layer
- Image layer, i.e., a photographic image of wood or stone
- Thin impact resistant layer
- Product layer, i.e., High-density fibreboard
- Soft foam or backer paper layer
Laminate flooring is made up of compressed fibres of plantation wood. If you wish to have the appearance and feel of hardwood flooring at a lesser rate, laminate flooring is an excellent alternative to consider.
What are Vinyl Tiles?
Vinyl flooring is more commonly associated with luxury and premium flooring. Vinyl is multi-layered as well, with PVC and fibreglass elements. Vinyl tiles, unlike laminate flooring, are composed completely of plastic, but the technology behind them allows them to be manufactured to seem remarkably similar to a real woodgrain pattern.
Comparison between Laminate Flooring and Vinyl Tiles:
Installation:
- Vinyl tiles can be installed by various methods such as peel and stick, glue down, etc. But some vinyl tiles require heavy cutting for getting precise shapes and angles in the room which may require professional help.
- On the other hand, Laminate flooring can be installed by a DIY method as they are installed as ‘floating floors’ on your existing floors. It uses a click-and-lock installation method and can be cut into pieces using the regular table saw.
Appearance:
- Vinyl flooring is available in multiple designs, colours, styles, and sizes. You can go for a white oak design for a chic interior or cherry or mahogany for a classic look or matt black for modern rooms and so on.
- In terms of appearance, laminate flooring tops the best flooring category. Laminate flooring now comes in a variety of realistic-looking designs and colours thanks to advances in printing technology. In addition, unlike vinyl, which has an artificial-looking textured surface, laminate more closely mimics hardwood due to its realistic embossing. Laminate can be made to look like travertine, ceramic tile, stone, and other materials too.
Stain and scratch resistance:
- Both vinyl and Laminate floorings are stain and scratch-resistant. Though laminate flooring comes in a variety of types and scratch resistance laminate flooring being one of them, it offers a high resistivity towards scratches, stains, tearing, and denting. Also since the primary layer is constructed of high-density fibreboard, laminate flooring is far more robust than luxury vinyl.
Fade resistance:
- One advantage of laminate flooring is that it does not fade as quickly as vinyl when used for interior applications. Laminate flooring can maintain its shine for years, hence saving your polishing costs.
Comfort and sound:
- Vinyl flooring is sometimes not the most comfortable flooring since it is installed directly on a concrete subfloor. There is no insulation under the flooring so vinyl tiles remain cold.
- While laminate flooring is thicker than Vinyl tiles and so it is more comfortable. Moreover, Laminate flooring is installed with a thick underlayment which makes it warmer than vinyl and this underlayment also reduces the sound impact.
Resale value:
- Laminate flooring is a great alternative to costly solid wood and hardwood flooring and they look and provide the same feel as that of solid wood. In fact, at a lower cost, they offer advanced qualities like embossing, better strength, durability, termites and mildew free, water-resistant, etc. Thus when it comes to selling the house, the buyers might be attracted with the laminate flooring in your house. After solid wood and hardwood, laminate flooring offers great resale value and laminate flooring will give you higher returns compared to vinyl tiles.
Environmentally Friendly:
- If you are a nature lover and looking for an eco-friendly option then vinyl might not be your choice. Most vinyl floorings are not created keeping in mind the environmental consequences and just a few alternatives can be recycled. When vinyl is burned, it emits pollutants as well. Once your vinyl flooring has served its purpose, it is generally disposed of in an incinerator or dumped in a landfill.
- On the other hand, laminate emits less VOC compared to Vinyl plank. Moreover, as they are made from wood fibers, they are easy to discard without impacting the environment.
Conclusion:
As discussed in the blog, we can clearly conclude that HDF laminate flooring is surely a better choice for the house as well as workplace applications. Though the choice of flooring also depends on personal needs such as style, cost, texture, etc., both Laminate flooring and Vinyl tiles have their own pros and cons.
For your laminate flooring requirements, we are here to help you. Surya Click offers the best quality HDF laminate floorings that fulfill all your requirements and stays the same for years.